Affiliations: Department of Physics and Engineering, University of
Central Oklahoma, 100 N. University Drive, Edmond, Oklahoma 73034, USA | Animal Resources, University of Oklahoma Health
Sciences Center, 940 Stanton L. Young Boulevard, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73104,
USA | Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, College of
Veterinary Medicine and Center for Laser Research, Oklahoma State University,
Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078, USA | Center for Bioengineering and School of Electrical and
Computer Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma 73019, USA
Note: [] Corresponding author: Wei R. Chen, Ph.D., Associate Professor,
Department of Physics and Engineering, University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond,
Oklahoma 73034, USA. Tel.: +1 405 974 5198; Fax: +1 405 974 3812; E-mail:
wchen@ucok.edu
Abstract: Laser tissue welding has the potential to become an effective method
for wound closure and healing without sutures and staples. Laser light has the
ability to control the volume of tissue being exposed. It can also cause
selective tissue fusion by activating light-absorbing dye in the target tissue
without significantly affecting the surrounding normal tissue. Temperature is a
crucial factor in tissue welding. Too high a temperature causes irreversible
tissue damage, while too low a temperature fails to form a strong tissue bond.
To effectively control tissue temperature, an 805-nm laser was used in
conjunction with in situ application of indocyanine green (ICG) as the
light-absorbing dye. In vivo laser tissue welding using rat skin was
performed with the laser-dye combination. Using different power densities,
ranging from 0.4 W/cm^2 to
1.2 W/cm^2, the skin temperature could be increased from
body temperature to a range of 40°C to
72°C, with the enhancement of ICG solution. The
long-term effect of laser welding was studied by measuring the tensile strength
of the welded tissue at different times after the welding, in comparison with
that of the tissue closure using conventional suturing. Our results showed that
the welded tissue provided a stronger tissue holding power at the early stage
than the sutured tissue and provided almost the same strength as the sutured
tissue 30 days after the welding.
